The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Deaf Smith County, TX
Deaf Smith County is home to 18,500 residents and includes Hereford · Updated November 2026
Is Deaf Smith County, TX safe?
Yes. Most US neighborhoods have little crime, and Deaf Smith County has less than most of them: its overall CrimeGrade™ is A+, safer than the neighborhoods where 87% of Americans live. Violent and property crime both grade A+ here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Deaf Smith County run from A+ to B, so check the map below.
A+
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 952 of 1,000Safer than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
87% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Deaf Smith County as a whole, and 13% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Deaf Smith County scores 952.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in Deaf Smith County, TX at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Deaf Smith County, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in Deaf Smith County
Reported rapes run above the US rate. Deaf Smith County has less crime than the US as a whole, 27% below the US rate, but more reported rapes: 0.66 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.38 nationally.
Thefts are uncommon. Deaf Smith County has thefts at about half the US rate: 6.8 a year per 1,000 residents, against 13.1 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Deaf Smith County
Every part of Deaf Smith County where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Deaf Smith County run from A+ to B; 22% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Across the county, the east side has the least crime and the south side the most.
Crime rates and types in Deaf Smith County
CrimeGrade™ estimates Deaf Smith County has about 27 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 27% less than the US as a whole and 35% less than Texas.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Assault is the most common crime in Deaf Smith County, about 36% of everything reported.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Deaf Smith County
These figures come from the reports of the police departments across Deaf Smith County, 2022 to 2024.
In Deaf Smith County, 68% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally. Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 64% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (68%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Car theft
Homes (49%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Homes (64%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Vandalism
Homes (51%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Aggravated assault
Homes (67%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times; they are over one in five for car theft, vandalism, aggravated assault.
How Deaf Smith County compares with nearby counties
Deaf Smith County has more crime than 6 of its 10 nearest counties. Armstrong County and Bailey County have the least crime nearby.
Nearest first, with each place's distance from Deaf Smith County. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).
Compared with counties of similar size and density, Deaf Smith County has more crime than 59% of them.
Empty homes, transit and walkability in Deaf Smith County
Two things set Deaf Smith County apart: it has 13.3% of its homes standing empty, against 7.1% nationally, and 7% of its residents in dense blocks, against 24% nationally. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson, yet burglary runs lower here than that would suggest.
Empty homesSeasonal and vacation homes are left out. Places with many empty homes tend to report more burglary and arson.13.3% of homesUS: 7.1%Higher than for 95% of Americans
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Deaf Smith County: F (0 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 86% of Americans
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft. 75% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D+ (20 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 63% of Americans
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery.7% of residentsUS: 24%Lower than for 71% of Americans
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.47 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 60% of Americans
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.10.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 55% of Americans
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs Deaf Smith County
Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Deaf Smith County about $1,437 a year per household, 19% more than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $38 million a year, or $2,058 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$3.4 million
$186
Rape
$740,000
$40
Robbery
$130,000
$7
Assault
$2.1 million
$111
Burglary
$370,000
$20
Theft
$650,000
$35
Vehicle theft
$1.0 million
$55
Arson
$150,000
$8
Vandalism
$460,000
$25
Total
$9.0 million
$487
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in Deaf Smith County means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in Deaf Smith County, TX average a SchoolGrade of C: 45% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Deaf Smith County on SchoolGrade
